Standing at Kandivali railway station in the mornings at around 9 AM would remind us of many cruel facts of life including the Darwin's 'Survival of the Fittest'. Trains would come and go, but no one would get in or get out except some muscle-powered-friends. In between, many of the Lilliputs like me would get hurt, tampered, pulled down, walked and ran over, sandwiched and bread-rolled by the maddened crowd or sometimes even ‘bubblegummed’ by the iron-hearted trains. Some others would climb the trains' roofs in search of solitude, but most often their destiny would meet up with an 'electrified ending.'

I had been a regular Local train commuter from Kandivali to Lower Parel in the mornings. There had been days when I pitied myself for waiting endlessly for a less-crowded train which I could aboard safely. In the very first glimpse, if the train had given me some hopes, symbolically looking like a sprout on the empty horizon, it would come closer soon, but only to encourage frustrations on my physicality and disquiet on the will-power dysfunction. Most often, the trains weren't fully crowded, but the unconcerned scoundrels standing at the doorway would make it hazardous for others to get in, so that they could stand comfortably. Within the few seconds' halt, the trains would move on, accompanied by rags and paper-scraps in the air, appearing like curses from the thousands who were left behind, thwarted.

One day, after leaving almost half a dozen of trains, I decided to board the forthcoming train any how. By the time the train arrived, I prepared myself for the impending fight, taking a deep breath to hold as much Oxygen and stretching my hopeless muscles to get-set-go at the right time. As the train came, I somehow managed to get hold of the train's door clamp. Except my palms and edges of my shoes, the whole body was out of the train and as the train started to move, I realized that the person standing in front of me was so unconcerned about moving into the compartment. My pushes ended on him as he was a senseless bulky mass of human flesh. The laptop bag hanging on my back aided my worries as each moment go, it weighed more. The train had gained a good speed by then, like the non-stop bhajan started by a group of passengers, was reaching its culmination. The next station was nowhere in the visibility as I stared earnestly. It became difficult for me to stand anymore.

My hands became weak and body shivered. I tried telling the fellow that I was about to fall down. He did not listen. In the next moment, I hit the man with my right hand using all the power left in me! He screamed and pushed himself into the compartment. Like a meek attachment on him, I too got in.

What followed was very shameful! The man undressed his mouth and wielded his dirty tongue mossy of bad words! Suddenly the bhajan stopped, the talks stopped and all eyes got fixed on me and the giant man. All his abuse was in Hindi or Marathi and hence I did not understand almost all of it. However, I felt bad for what I did.

"Pudi station.. Andheri" The Announcer reminded! The giant man's screaming now came to an end as he got stuck between the door and a huge crowd that was pushing him towards the door. He was forced to get down at Andheri and while getting back to the train, he again got himself fixed on the door panel!

No one was seen beyond him.


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